Monday, July 20, 2009

The weekend of this 5k, Tom's parents and little brother Mike came for a fun visit. We had a great time with them and love when they come and see us. The pics are a little out of order... our kids didn't use pacifiers...Taylor did until she was 5 months, Max never did, but on this particular day they found old pacifiers and were both gnawing on them. They don't know how to suck on them so it looks pretty goofy and funny! I think we disposed of the pacifiers after that...

After the 5k...family shot.

This is us with our neighbor and my really good friend Rachele who ran it with us. I love this girl! We passed each other a couple times during the race and she would let our whoops and hollers. She looks like Scarlett Johannson and is so much fun!

Taylor got to run for part of the kids mile race...yep, she was all dressed to run in her flip flops and pjs. :-)

Max's public diaper change...he LOVED every minute of it!

trying not to pass out...or throw up after the race... ;-) I was excited to have run it pretty fast (for me) and get my best time with this race, but I also came the closest I've ever come to puking! I crossed the finish line and gagged 3 times (I know! Embarrassing!) I had to sit down on the street before they even got my tag so I wouldn't lose it! I'm SO glad I didn't lose it!

But, Tom's little brother Mike on the other hand....lost it! ;-) Yep, he threw up in one of the outhouses and was so glad b/c he felt much better afterwords. He is such a fun, goofy guy. I love this kid! He hadn't run at all since he visited us last October and we all ran a 5k together. Well, he did awesome and ran it in right around 25 minutes...but, didn't feel so good after the race (until he finally puked! :-) Here are a couple more funny pics of the poor guy!

Taylor and Tom's mom share a birthday (July 15th) so while they were here, they had a little early birthday celebration for themselves...

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

This momma of three is just starting to use her creative, artistic talent to help other people have less stress on their occasions. And, she is SO good at it! I feel blessed that she took her time to help me learn some of her tricks to make Max's cake!

This gal is also super creative and talented! She's also a mother to four and get this, she's paying her kids 60 bucks to go off sugar for the summer (and she bakes these amazing deserts!). Her kids are actually excited about the challenge! How cool is that?!

I just wanted to share some of them with you because they are so worth sharing! Those are just two of the biggest-hearted, incredible, amazing friends I've been blessed with! I have so many more and I feel SO grateful for you!!! (wink-wink!)

I have another 'catch up' post coming soon (hopefully!), but, in the mean time, I thought I'd share some goals...

I'm doing my first triathlon in 32 days and since I've been doing my boot camps in June, I totally put off my tri training. I running this morning (with the kiddos in the double stroller--oh, it's not fun!) and I went swimming this evening. I'm doing a sprint triathlon (thank heavens!) so I have to swim a 1/2 mile and honestly, I know this is pathetic, but I haven't swam yet this year! Anyway, in the smaller pool at the health club I work at, you have to swim 24 laps to equal a half a mile!!! This is the sad part...I swam two, yes, just two and I thought to myself 'this is SO HARD!!!'. I thought at that point, maybe I should just swim 12 laps for starters, but eventually I defeated my inner woes and kept going and swam 26 laps (give or take one-b/c I lost count after just 7 or so laps! ;-). It was much harder than I thought it'd be (I'm not a swimmer) and I had to vary it up with breast strokes and back strokes. Anyway, I have 5 weeks (counting this one) and I have the goal to swim (26 laps-or just over a half a mile) a total of 15 times before the tri (that's 3 times a week). I'm thinking about adding a tally on the side of my blog so I have to 'fess-up' about my training and hopefully, I won't pucker out.

I also am setting the goal to run 15 times (anywhere from 2-6 miles). Thankfully, during the tri it's only a 5k!!! And, also to ride my bike (or attend spin class) 15 times. One more goal: at least 3 times, I need to put them all together for a mock tri-trial run. We'll see how it goes! Wish me luck and please hold me accountable! I need ALL the help I can get!

Monday I got my haircut...just a trim mostly at the Dillard's salon. I had a good coupon so it only cost 13 bucks! And, then I ventured to the semi-annual BRA sale they were having. I love this sale! It's crazy how much you fluctuate with being a momma, nursing and all the ups and downs. I love the sale (I got two bras for 14.99 each) but, what I mostly love are the two little, older ladies, Mitzi and Anita who come in the dressing room with you and tug at the bra and tell what fits well and what doesn't, what looks fantastic and helps you in and out of bras and then have you leaving their department feeling ever so....lifted!

Anyway, dear friends, I just wanted to tell you that Dillard's is having their semi-annual bra sale (at least here). Anita said the bras on clearance will be there till they're gone. Here were a couple things I learned in my wonderful bra fitting specialists:

-When you buy a new bra you want to hook it on the loosest hook and then as the bra loosens through wear, you should gradually start hooking it on the next tighter hook.

-when you try on a bra, slip your top on over to give you a better idea of it's fit and look.

-the tendons in your breast area can actually deteriorate from a poor supporting bra, so in order to avoid 'more' sagging, you want to make sure your chest is lifted and well-supported.

-wearing the right bra can help a woman stand taller and make some women look as if they've lost 5-10 pounds.